Karon forced his way in through the chaos, roots surging up from the broken ground at his feet and spreading outward to clear a path. They twisted and thickened into barriers as they moved, shielding those behind him from stray blows and falling debris. The motion was not elegant. It was urgent, practical, driven by necessity rather than control.
The group that followed him was smaller than it should have been.
Not just visibly reduced, but uneven. Gaps where entire squads should have been. Faces missing. Some walked under their own strength, others leaned on shoulders or dragged wounded companions with clenched teeth and shaking arms. The Watermages were there, fewer than before, their formation loose but functional, spells already half-formed in their hands as they moved.
Karon did not stop to count them.
His eyes were already searching.
